Ways to Diversify Networks of Entrepreneurs: Experiences from
Networking Experts
VU University Amsterdam
Faculty of Economics and Business Administration Course: Master Thesis
MSC Program: Entrepreneurship Academic Year: 2017 / 2018 Date: 04-07-2018
Supervisor: Dr. M.W. van Gelderen
Student name, student ID and student mail:
1 Preface
The copyright of the thesis lies with Ryan Heeres. The author is solely responsible for the content of the thesis, including mistakes. The university cannot be held liable for the content of the thesis.
This thesis could not have been written without the interviewees and the participants of the training program.
A special thanks to M.W. van Gelderen who has supervised me and helped me to finish the thesis.
2 Abstract
The advantages of a diversified network have been widely recognised by academics and practitioners. However, even though a diversified network can be of great importance for an entrepreneur, the means of obtaining such a network are less understood.
While the literature explains the advantages of a diversified network, less attention has been given to uncovering the aspects that make up a diverse network, which leads to the first sub-question of this research: What are the desired aspects of a diversified network? This study also investigates the advantages of a diverse network that accrue because of having access to these desired aspects, which prompts the second sub-question: What are the advantages of a diversified network? This study in particular focusses on the actions that entrepreneurs can undertake to render their network more diverse, which associates with the leading research question: How can entrepreneurs diversify their network?
Entrepreneurs who are experts in networking are interviewed, and their responses demonstrate the aspects of a diverse network. The advantages of a diverse network are also explored during the interviews. The main purpose of these interviews is to determine which actions a networking expert successfully undertakes to diversify his or her network.
The results show that the networking experts engage in many pursuits to diversify their network. Networking experts directly contact a tie, contact a tie via their current network or go to places where they expect diverse ties to be present. Actions to become more renowned also help entrepreneurs to diversify their network. A networking expert establishes new ties with extensive preparation, and the intentions and communicative skills of the networker should be in line with the expectations of the new tie.
This study concludes that the desired aspects of a diverse network depend on the viewpoint of the entrepreneur. Diversity of a single aspect leads to some diversity in a network, while the diversity among all of the aspects leads to greater diversity in a network. Structural holes and linchpins can help entrepreneurs to diversify their network efficiently. Entrepreneurs diversify their network by visiting places where they expect diverse people, using their current network to find diverse ties or contacting a diverse tie directly. Reputable entrepreneurs could
diversify their network by reciprocating contact with diverse people who contact them. Entrepreneurs should prepare well when they want to establish a new tie, and act on sincere and prosocial intentions, which seem to be more important than communicative skills when establishing new ties.
3 Table of Content Preface ... 1 Abstract ... 2 Chapter 1: Introduction ... 6 1.1 Research Background ... 6 1.2 Problem Statement ... 6 1.3 Research Question ... 7 1.4 Relevance ... 8 1.5 Thesis Outline... 9
Chapter 2: Theoretical Framework ... 10
2.1 Desired Aspects of a Diversified Network ... 10
Figure 1: Level of Diversity of Separation, Variety and Disparity ... 14
2.2 Advantages of a Diversified Network ... 14
Figure 2: Structural Holes ... 16
2.3 Entrepreneurial Networking ... 17 Table 1 ... 20 Table 2 ... 21 Chapter 3: Methods ... 22 3.1 Research Design ... 22 3.2 Sample ... 22 Table 3 ... 23 3.3 Data collection ... 23 3.4 Data Analysis ... 24 Chapter 4: Results ... 26
4.1 Aspects of a Diverse Network ... 26
4.2 Advantages of a Diversified Network ... 27
4.3 Actions to Diversify a Network ... 28
4.3.1 Planned Actions ... 28
4.3.2 Emergent Actions ... 30
4.4 Establishing New, Diverse Ties Actions ... 34
Chapter 5: Training Program ... 36
5.1 Training Program Design ... 36
5.2 Conduct of the Training Program ... 37
4
Table 5 ... 41
Table 6 ... 42
5.4 Discussion ... 42
Chapter 6: Discussion and Conclusion ... 44
6.1 Discussion ... 44
6.3 Practical and Theoretical Contribution ... 47
6.4 Limitations... 48
6.5 Future Research ... 48
6.5 Conclusion ... 49
Literature list ... 51
Appendix ... 54
Appendix 1: Network Structure and Embeddedness From a Focal Firm’s Perspective ... 54
Appendix 2: The Changing Importance of Structural Diversity ... 54
Appendix 3: Consent form for Thesis ... 55
Appendix 4: Interview Guide ... 56
Appendix 5: Training Guide ... 59
Appendix 6: Network Form Training Program ... 62
Appendix 7: Evaluation Form Training Program ... 63
Appendix 8: Interviews ... 65 Interview 1 ... 65 Interview 2 ... 80 Interview 3 ... 96 Interview 4 ... 108 Interview 5 ... 137 Interview 6 ... 149 Interview 7 ... 165 Interview 8 ... 179 Interview 9 ... 197
Appendix 9: Evaluations of the Training Program ... 215
Evaluation 1 ... 215 Evaluation 2 ... 217 Evaluation 3 ... 219 Evaluation 4 ... 221 Evaluation 5 ... 223 Evaluation 6 ... 224 Evaluation 7 ... 226
5
Evaluation 8 ... 228
Evaluation 9 ... 230
Evaluation 10 ... 232
6 Chapter 1: Introduction
This chapter begins with an explanation of the background of the research, and the problem statement is explained after that. The research question and sub-questions are presented in Section 1.3. Next, the relevance of this study is explained, and then the last section of the chapter consists of an outline of the remainder of the thesis.
1.1 Research Background
The discussion about what constitutes an effective network could be endlessly debated without a satisfactory answer; for instance, is Richard Branson or Barack Obama a better networker? Arguments can be found to support the position that both are strong networkers, as writers of popular articles have quoted both of their networking tricks such that some people see Richard Branson as a valuable networker (Alderton, 2016) and other people consider Obama as more successful (Mejia, 2017). Branson and Obama each seem to have a strong network, but the problem is that it is difficult to formulate exactly what it means to have such an effective network.
Another question that often arises is whether someone who has a solid network is, per definition, a strong networker. It could be that Branson and Obama each have extensive networks, while not being effective networkers themselves: other circumstances may have improved their network independently of their personality, like being the CEO of the Virgin Group or the President of the United States. The actions that each person has undertaken should be investigated to evaluate whether they are successful networkers or simply have a strong network.
Networking events are on the rise as of late, and it seems that they are more important than ever (Barrett, 2017). This trend could imply that networking has become increasingly more important lately.
This study began from an intrinsic motivation to better understand why some people are considered better networkers than others and as a reaction to the seemingly growing importance of networking in the last years.
1.2 Problem Statement
Entrepreneurship research on networks and networking began to emerge in 1988 (Hoang and Antoncic, 2003). Hoang and Antoncic (2003) have concluded that the early research in this field focussed on the network content, governance and structure and stated that future directions of this research stream should focus on understandings of network processes. An
7 example is the study of Slotte-Kock and Coviello (2010), in which the authors have provided a theoretical framework for various processes associated with network development. This study did state that network development is important, but it has not given explicit
information on how to develop a network.
Many authors have agreed in the literature that a diverse network has advantages for
entrepreneurs (Rauch, Rosenbusch, Unger & Frese, 2016; Klyver & Hindle, 2007). However, the characteristics of a diversified network remain unclear. Some aspects that render a
network more diverse are unwanted by entrepreneurs in a network because they could lead to undesirable outcomes, for example, ties with contacts with a bad reputation. This study investigates what constitutes a diverse network while excluding the unwanted aspects that are likely not to be adopted by entrepreneurs.
The advantages of a diverse network that have been specified in the literature are mainly advantages for the business from an entrepreneur. However, less addressed in literature are possible advantages that could benefit entrepreneurs themselves while not necessarily positively affecting their business. Entrepreneurs could be, for example, happier, more down to earth or feel more satisfaction because they have a more diverse network.
The outcomes of the advantages for entrepreneurs with diverse networks could also be advantageous for their business. For instance, the business’s performance may increase because the entrepreneur has a more positive mood, feels more grounded and has more personal satisfied. This relationship would mean that the advantages of a diverse network could indirectly create advantages for the entrepreneur’s business. This study investigates the advantages of a diversified network that are beneficial for entrepreneurs but are not directly linked to advantages for their business.
One notion that remains unclear is how entrepreneurs can develop their network in such a way that it becomes more diverse. Engel, Kaandorp and Elfring (2017) have outlined some actions that can diversify a network, but these actions are not comprehensive of every possibility that entrepreneurs can undertake to diversify their network. Consequently, this study also explores what actions entrepreneurs can undertake to diversify their network.
1.3 Research Question
The literature lacks a coherent revelation of the specific aspects of a diverse network, which leads to the first sub-question that guides this research:
8 What are the desired aspects of a diversified network?
The literature does explain many advantages of a diversified network, but it lacks a discussion of the advantages for an entrepreneur that are not directly related to the advantages for the entrepreneur’s business. This oversight leads to the second sub-question in this research: What are the advantages of a diversified network?
Finally, the literature neglects to reveal precisely how an entrepreneur can makes his or her network more diverse, which is prompts the following research question:
How can entrepreneurs diversify their network?
1.4 Relevance
This study attempts to fill three gaps in the literature. The first gap consists of the aspects of diversity in a network to constitute diversification. This study aims to clarify what aspects comprise diversity in a network., The second gap concerns the actions entrepreneurs
undertake to diversify their network. This study contributes to the literature by uncovering the actions that entrepreneurs can undertake to diversify their network by building on the current literature of network diversity. Networking experts’ interpretations regarding the
characteristics of a diverse network and the actions to obtain such a network are applied to obtain a better understanding of these topics. This research also highlights the relation among the aspects of diversity and that among the actions needed to diversify a network.
Thirdly, this study demonstrates the advantages of a diverse network and attempts to find advantages of a diverse network that have not yet been mentioned in literature. These findings could lead to another point of view regarding network diversity.
A deeper understanding of the aspects of diversity and what an entrepreneur can do to diversify his or her network are also relevant in a practical sense. Firstly, with this greater knowledge, entrepreneurs can determine if their network is diverse by using the aspects as criteria. Secondly, this study can help entrepreneurs to expand their knowledge about how to diversify their network.
Thirdly, programs that train, support or teach aspiring and novice entrepreneurs can utilise this study to teach their students what diversity in a network means and how to achieve a diverse network. Aspiring entrepreneurs can develop their skills in order to diversify their network.
9 Furthermore, entrepreneurs can benefit from this study’s results by knowing the advantages of a diverse network, and then entrepreneurs can understand how much time to spend on
diversifying their network than on other ties and ventures to best optimise their professional lives.
Finally, This study makes a fourth contribution by developing and evaluating a training framework aimed at network diversification. Programs that train, support or teach novice entrepreneurs can offer this training so that novice entrepreneurs can develop their skills to diversify their network.
1.5 Thesis Outline
This study begins with the introduction. The next chapter develops the theoretical framework. It expresses the known aspects of a diversified network, the actions that can be taken to diversify a network and the advantages of structural holes according to the literature. Chapter 3 consists of the methodology, and Chapter 4 outlines the results. Subsequently, the
interpretation and discussion of the results are offered. The relations between the results are stated in this chapter. Chapter 6 explains a training program that is based on the results and discussion. Finally, the last chapter contains an overall conclusion, including the limitations and avenues for further research.
10 Chapter 2: Theoretical Framework
Firstly, the aspects of a diversified network that have been identified in the literature are discussed in this chapter, followed by a summary of the advantages of a diverse network. Entrepreneurial networking is discussed in the last section of this chapter. Entrepreneurial networking is divided into three types of networking actions: planned, emergent and planned and emergent. Actions that are in line with these types are explained, while actions to
establish a new, diverse relation are discussed after that. 2.1 Desired Aspects of a Diversified Network
This section consists of the desired aspects of a diversified network. Firstly, cohesive networks are compared with diverse networks, and after that, diversity on the tie level is discussed. The forms of diversity offered to Harrison and Klein (2007) are used as an explanation diversity herein. Furthermore, the different states of diversity and the optimal states of diversity are explained, followed by the aspects of variety, separation and disparity in a network and their influence on diversity in a network. In the end, an explanation is given for why variety is the most important form of diversity in this study.
The literature distinguishes between two types of networks, namely cohesive and diverse networks. A cohesive network is characterised by many strong ties, broad cohesion, closure and embedded relationships, while a diverse network is characterised by a lot of weak ties, relationships with low emotion and infrequent contact, structural holes and brokers (Rauch, 2016). It is not possible to express whether one of the networks is better, as both types have different advantages: cohesive networks generate more advantages for the persons within the strong ties, while diverse networks generate greater benefits from the value created by the breadth of the weak ties (Uzzi, 1997).
Diversity on the tie level consists of diversity within each relational tie. The illustration on the cover page of this study offers some examples of aspects that can render a network to be considered more diverse. The specific characteristics of diversity in a network have not been explicitly defined in the current literature. Harrison and Klein (2007) have attempted to define the nature and effects of diversity by introducing the constructs of separation, variety and disparity. Separation refers having different viewpoints, values and attitudes in a working group, while variety refers a working group containing many disciplinary backgrounds, expertise areas and experiences; disparity suggests varied levels of prestige or status in a working group.
11 However, the focus of Harrison and Klein’s (2007) is on individuals working in groups, while this study focusses on networks. This distinction is important because the teamwork in
working groups is an important part of the process, while teamwork is not inherently included in networks. Working groups perform towards a mutual goal, while a network does not have to have a mutual goal. Another difference is that a working group is more likely to contain a fixed set of people that is unlikely to change, while it could be easier to change the people in a network or choose people in another network to help with a problem.
The importance of separation, variety and disparity is also different in networks compared to working groups. Variety is a less abstract form of diversity, and it is easier to comprehend. Using the aspects of variety as aspects of diversity in this study could improve the results, as it may be simpler for the interviewees to categorise ties on the basis of variety. For this reason, variety is the most important form of diversity in this study.
Separation consists of multiple aspects that could improve the diversity of a network. The aspects of separation are the most abstract aspects of diversity and include opinions, beliefs, values and attitudes (Harrison & Klein, 2007). An opinion is a view or a judgement that is created about an entity, and it does not have to be based on facts or knowledge. A belief, on the other hand, is the acceptance from a relational tie that something is true or that it exists. A value is the feeling of a tie that an object or idea is important, while an attitude is a certain way of thinking or feeling. Diversity among these four aspects could make a network more diverse.
Figure 1 shows the minimum, moderate and maximum levels of diversity of separation, variety and disparity in working groups. The minimum diversity of separation in working group is met when all of the ties hold the same position regardless of the location. This definition means that the minimally diverse working group consists of homogeneous viewpoints, values and attitudes, which also seems to imply that the minimum diversity of separation in networks, as the aspects of separation of the ties are mostly homogeneous. Moderate diversity of separation in working groups occurs when there is some spread of among the ties, which means that all the ties have different viewpoints, values and attitudes. This state represents the maximum diversity in a network, as the aspects of separation are most diverse in this situation. Maximum diversity of separation in groups is created when there is an equal split at both endpoints. This is a beneficial state for working groups, as this state can prompt discussion in the group. However, this kind of discussion does not occur in
12 networks. This seems to be moderate diversity in networks, as this state consists of two
homogeneous groups (Harrison & Klein, 2007).
Some unwanted viewpoints, values and attitudes from a tie could create diversity in a network, but their unwanted nature means this situation is not beneficial for entrepreneurs. The optimal state of separation in a network is met when the ties are distributed among
members of the network, while leaving the unwanted aspects of separation out of the network. This setup generates the most diverse viewpoints, values and attitudes in a network. Moderate separation in Figure 1 is an example of the optimal state of a network.
There are several aspects of variety, and those that can be linked to networks are used in this study. The first aspect is diversity of disciplinary backgrounds, which means that the ties in a network differ in terms of the kinds of jobs that they have. The second aspect is diversity in expertise, followed by diversity in skills and diversity in talents. The last aspect of variety that is used in this study is the diversity within experience in a certain industry, which refers to when the ties in a network work in different industries and have different working experiences in those industries (Harrison & Klein, 2007). The popular literature states that an important aspect of variety in a network are ties that generate interesting and original ideas (Rayson, n.d.). This study views this aspect as a talent.
The minimum diversity of variety in working groups occurs when the ties all or mostly belong to the same categories such that the disciplinary backgrounds, expertise areas and experiences of the ties are the same. This also seems to be the minimum diversity of variety in networks, as the ties are mostly homogeneous in this state. Moderate diversity of variety in working groups occurs when there is at least one tie that fits into another category. In terms of
networks, this situation seems to represent low diversity, as the relational ties contain mostly the same aspects. Maximum diversity of variety in working groups occurs when every tie belongs to a unique category, and networks of the same state, such that ties belong to different categories, also seem to be maximally diverse (Harrison & Klein, 2007).
Aspects of variety may also include unwanted aspects. The expertise of one person could be shoe-making, which may make a network more diverse but could also be unwanted by entrepreneurs, as entrepreneurs do not need this expertise in their network. The optimal state of variety in networks is met when all of the ties belong to a unique category, while leaving the unwanted aspects out of the network. An example of the optimal state of variety in networks is the maximum diversity of variety that is presented in Figure 1.
13 Disparity within a network exists when a prestige or status level of a tie is incongruent,
according to the entrepreneur; an entrepreneur could see a someone as having a lower, equal or higher status of prestige. The dominance between the tie and the entrepreneur could also create diversity of disparity. The minimum diversity of disparity in working groups occurs when the ties are perceived to stand at the same position, which means that the ties have the same prestige or status in a working group; the same holds true in a network that consists of ties with the same aspects of disparity. Moderate diversity of disparity in working groups happens when there are some differences among the ties with regard to their status, and the moderate diversity of disparity in working groups seems to represent the maximum diversity of disparity in networks. This state consists of ties that have different levels of prestige or status. Maximum diversity of disparity in working groups arises when one tie is at the total opposite position of all of the other ties; this state is difficult to imagine in networks, as it would be hard for one tie to control a whole network. A cult is an example of a case in which one or a few ties control a network (Harrison & Klein, 2007).
Disparity includes multiple aspects that could make a network more diverse. One such aspect is income, while the other aspects tend to be more abstract concepts, such as prestige, status and social power (Harrison & Klein, 2007). Prestige refers to the respect and admiration someone gains from others on the basis of achievements or a quality considered positively by a large group of people. Status roughly designates the position someone has either in a social or professional setting. Social power is the influence that a tie has among society. Diverse standings within these three aspects can make a network more diverse.
Disparity can consist of aspects that entrepreneurs do not find desirable. The power structure between the entrepreneur and the tie may not provide value to the network, which would lead to the entrepreneur being totally dominated by a tie, thus rendering it difficult to conduct business with that tie. The status or the prestige of a tie could also be unwanted by an entrepreneur, even though it could make the network more diverse; an example of an
unwanted status is the label of being a conman. The optimal state of disparity in networks is met when all of the ties have different aspects of disparity, while continuing to exclude the unwanted aspects from the network. An example of the optimal state for a network is the moderate state of disparity in Figure 1.
14 Figure 1: Level of Diversity of Separation, Variety and Disparity
2.2 Advantages of a Diversified Network
This section starts with a discussion of the advantages of a diverse network, and structural holes and linchpins are subsequently introduced. The advantages of structural holes are also explained. Finally, the relations among diversity, structural holes and linchpins are discussed in the end.
A diverse network has multiple advantages for an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs are involved in social relationships that are of strategic significance, and these relationships help the
entrepreneur to successfully exploit opportunities. The advantage of a diversified network is that it has a wide range of resources, information and viewpoints. From a broader perspective, these advantages lead to an increase in a firm’s performance and legitimacy (Rauch et al., 2016; Rosenbusch, Unger & Frese, 2016). A diverse network also increases the likelihood of obtaining non-redundant resources (Klyver & Hindle, 2007). Examples of resources that can be obtained by a diversified network are business information, business advice, knowledge of business processes, access to finance and social legitimacy (Klyver & Hindle, 2007). A wide range of business information supports two key activities of entrepreneurs: the recognition of new opportunities and possibilities for innovation (Rauch et al., 2016; Bodin, Crona & Ernstson, 2006; Henrekson & Sinandaji, 2013). A diverse network also gives entrepreneurs access to a wider range of the aspects of separation, variety and disparity (Harrison & Klein, 2007). A diversified network has a self-reinforcing effect. If an entrepreneur has a diversified network, then he or she can use it to extend the network even further. People come to ask the entrepreneur for help because the people know the entrepreneur’s reputation for having a
15 diverse network. The entrepreneur can help those people and add further expand his or her network (Bhattacharyya, 2010). These advantages are also advantages for the business of an entrepreneur.
The advantage of variety becomes stronger in a diverse network. Diverse areas of expertise and skills can help the entrepreneur with more diverse problems. The advantage of diverse viewpoints also becomes stronger in a diverse network, as these viewpoints can help the entrepreneur to solve a problem in different ways. The diversity could lead to a solution that a homogeneous network may not have had the view to create.. Diversity in a network leads to a wide range of resources and information. A homogeneous network provide access to a
narrower set of resources and information, but it could still lead to the resources and information that the entrepreneur needs.
A tie in a network has three kind of capital: financial capital, human capital and social capital. Examples of financial capital of a tie are cash in hand, reserves in the bank, investments and lines of credit, whereas human capital refers to qualities, charm, health, intelligence,
functional background, expertise, skills, talents and experience in a certain industry; social capital, on the other hand, is about the network of the tie. The relational ties of one tie can bring financial, human and social capital to another person (Burt, 2009). With these types in mind, this study focusses on the advantages of social capital.
The degree to which people know each other in a network is known as density. Structural holes are present in a network of an entrepreneur if people who know the entrepreneur but do not know each other (Van Gelderen, 2017). A tie is a structural hole if the network of the tie has non-redundant relationships when compared to other ties in the network of an
entrepreneur; structural holes generate more social capital than redundant ties. Figure 2 is an example of four structural holes. These structural holes have their own cluster of ties (Burt, 2009).
16 Figure 2: Structural Holes
Some people have many structural holes in their network. There are several names for these people, including bridges, linchpins, brokers, boundary spanners or gatekeepers. The number of structural holes in the network of an entrepreneur is higher if there are more linchpins in his or her network. For this reason, a network can expand faster when more linchpins are added. A linchpin has a bridging position to unconnected networks, which makes it possible for the entrepreneur to get in contact with those networks via the linchpin (Van Gelderen, 2017). The benefits of having structural holes in a network are efficiency and effectiveness. Efficiency is met via structural holes because it is possible to maintain more contacts at the cost of fewer contacts. Figure 2 shows an example of a person maintaining 16 contacts at the cost of 4 contacts. Linchpins create even more efficiency, as the entrepreneur can maintain the structural holes of the linchpins via the linchpins.
Effectiveness is attained because the entrepreneur can focus on the ties that have the most secondary contacts while being non-redundant. Linchpins are characterised by having a high number of secondary contacts that are non-redundant. The most effective form of a network is when an entrepreneur reaches the highest total number of people via linchpins (Burt, 2009; Van Gelderen, 2017).
Structural holes are not necessarily required in order to take advantage of a diverse network. A tie is not a structural hole when the tie is known by the rest of the network, but it could provide the advantages of diversity. In the opposite manner, structural holes do not
necessarily act as diverse ties. It could be that a tie is a structural hole, but the tie and his or her network do not have diverse aspects for the entrepreneur.
17 Structural holes and linchpins could make a network more diverse. Linchpins that have
diverse aspects could make a network more diverse, but not necessarily more so than other diverse ties. However, the network of linchpins can make the network of entrepreneurs more diverse in an efficient way. To achieve this efficiency, the network of a linchpin should thus consist of diverse ties. The entrepreneur needs to maintain contact with the linchpins to
maintain a diverse network, while the entrepreneur’s network then also has the diversity of the networks of the linchpins. This interaction means that the entrepreneur maintains a few
diverse networks at the cost of maintaining relationships with a few linchpins. The current literature does not state if linchpins can make a network more diverse in an efficient way. 2.3 Entrepreneurial Networking
This section discusses the existent literature which evaluates the actions undertaken by entrepreneurs who are also networking experts in order to create a diversified network. Firstly, a definition is given for entrepreneurs that are networking experts. Moreover, networking diversifying actions are categorised into planned, emergent, or planned and emergent actions. At the end of the section, the ways networking experts could behave towards new, diverse ties to create a bond with them are detailed.
The focus of this study is on entrepreneurs who are also networking experts. For this reason, the notion of an entrepreneur is explained. There are many different definitions of
entrepreneurs. To understand the phenomenon of entrepreneurs, it is better to focus on what an entrepreneur does than what an entrepreneur is (Gardner, 1988). The most common definition of entrepreneurs from academics and business leaders refers to those individuals who are involved in the creation and development of new ventures, work for themselves, operate a business, deal with risk and uncertainty and are looking for opportunities
(Henrekson & Sinandaji, 2013). This definition is also used in this study. For the concept of a networking expert, this study defines this person as someone who is experienced,
knowledgeable, accurate, responsive and flexible in the field of networking (Day, 2002). An entrepreneur who is also a networking expert can be defined as someone who is an entrepreneur according to the most common definition in combination with experience in networking, such that he or she has claimed to have a diverse network or another person has stated that the entrepreneur has a diverse network.
Entrepreneurs can follow two types of actions to diversify their network. The first type of actions are planned actions. Mintzberg and Waters (1985) have determined that planned
18 strategies consists of three criteria: the strategy must consist of precise intentions, the
intentions must be common to all of the actors in the organisation and the intentions must be realised exactly as intended, whereby the environment is perfectly predictable.
Entrepreneurs can follow planned actions to diversify their network. There are only a few differences between entrepreneurs who follow planned actions to diversify their network and organisations that follow planned actions in their strategy. The first criterion of a planned action is the same in strategies as in networks. The planned actions to diversify a network must consist of precise intentions. The second criterion for strategies does not apply to networks; the intentions are solely from the entrepreneur, while the intentions of a strategy must be common to all of the actors in the organisation. Furthermore, the third criterion also operates the same in strategies and networks. The intentions of the entrepreneur must be realised exactly as intended, whereby the environment is perfectible predictable, which means that the planned actions in a network consists of two criteria: the intentions of the actions must be precise intentions and the intentions must be realised exactly as intended (Mintzberg & Waters, 1985).
This study focusses on the intention to diversify a network. Actions can have multiple intentions, and diversifying a network can be one of them. The actions that partially have the intention to diversify a network are categorised under planned actions, as the entrepreneur has acted with the intention to diversify his or her network.
There are multiple actions that are in line with planned actions, some of which are stated in Table 1. The first one is known as arm’s length contracts, examples of which are establishing piece-meal contracts or inviting people for meetings and business calls. The second planned action is informal mechanisms. Examples of informal mechanisms are taking a relational tie for dinner or entertainment or traveling with each other (Zhao & Aram, 1995; Baber & Waymon, 2012). Another planned action is to make use of online networking tools, such as e-mail, LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook (Engel et al., 2017). The last action is cold calling (Vissa, 2012).
The second type of action is emergent actions. There is one criterion for emergent actions in strategies, which is that the actions occur without intention to expand one’s network
(Mintzberg & Waters, 1985). This criterion can also be used for emergent actions in a network.
19 There are multiple emergent actions that entrepreneurs can undertake which diversify their network. The actions are expressed in Table 1. Volunteering and participating in associations are actions that could diversify a network, while the intention of joining may not be to
diversify a network. The people that an entrepreneur meets during volunteering or participating in associations could have other characteristics than the ties currently in the entrepreneur’s network (Become a networking expert in 7 steps, n.d.; Warren, n.d.). Another way to diversify a network according to the effectual networking approach is through
becoming involved with a university. Other stakeholders may be more willing to do business when the organisation of the entrepreneur is associated with a university. The network of the university or the network of professors can be used by the entrepreneur to diversify his or her network (McAdam & Marlow, 2008). The intentions of these actions are not based on
diversifying the networks of entrepreneurs, but the actions could still lead to a more diverse network.
Some actions can be categorised under both planned and emergent actions, which represents the third type of actions: planned and emergent. This type of action could be done with the intention to diversify a network (planned), but they could also have no intention to diversify a network (emergent). The actions can be found in Table 1. The first example is attending events, which could be a social gathering or alumni, professional and industry events (Engel et al., 2017; Vissa, 2012). Entrepreneurs may then talk with strangers and exchange
introductions to diversify their networks at these events (Warren, n.d.). It would be even more effectual to talk with strangers who are not the people with whom the entrepreneur typically speaks (Baber and Waymon, 2012).
The current literature lacks a clear demonstration of which actions entrepreneurs can and do undertake to diversify their network. Furthermore, the specific type of actions best to diversify is also not stated in the current literature.
20 Table 1
Network Diversifying Actions Type of actions Actions
Planned (piece-meal) Contracts, inviting for meetings, making business calls, taking to dinner or entertainment events, giving gifts, cold calling, online networking tools
Emergent Volunteering, contacting associations, staying in touch with universities
Planned or emergent Attending social gatherings like alumni events or professional and industry events, talking with strangers at events, linking with unusual strangers, exchanging introductions
A tie does not automatically join a network when the acquaintance is made. Both actions can make a network more diverse when a diverse tie is added. The process of creating a bond with a new, diverse tie during the first meeting consists of multiple actions. These actions are shown in Table 2. A new, diverse tie is seen as someone who is different than the
entrepreneur. Examples of actions that help to create a bond with new, diverse ties are as follows: finding out their areas of expertise, understanding their motivation to engage with new people and companies, finding common third parties of the new contact, asking open questions and being a sounding board for other people (Vissa, 2012). It is also important that the entrepreneur listens closely to the answers and reacts with curiosity rather than with self-interest. Sending a follow-up email to new contacts after an event also helps to establish a new tie (Become a networking expert in 7 steps, n.d.). The current literature does state how to establish a new tie, but it does not state how to establish a new, diverse tie. The focus of previous studies has not been on the entrepreneur but on the networker in general. This study adopts a focus on the entrepreneur to acquire a better understanding of how entrepreneurs establish new, diverse ties.
21 Table 2
Establishing New Ties
Type of actions Actions
Establishing new, diverse ties Finding areas of expertise Understanding motivations Finding common third parties Asking open questions
Being a sounding board for others Listening closely
Reacting with curiosity instead of self-interest Sending a follow-up mail after meeting the new tie
22 Chapter 3: Methods
3.1 Research Design
This study applied qualitative methods for the research design. Qualitative methods were chosen because they suit the research aim and question, which address that the literature explains the advantages of a diversified network, but there has not yet been much research on how entrepreneurs can diversify their network. The actions of networking experts to diversify their network are investigated to form a better understanding of how to diversify a network and what it means to have a diverse network.
Following the findings and their discussion, in Chapter 5 a training program is presented, and this program is based on the results of this study. The training program is a best practice model, as the recommendations of the interviewed networking experts are integrated in the program. The training program aims to help novice entrepreneurs develop a deeper awareness of the aspects of diversity. It also provided concrete advice on what they can do to create a more diverse network.
3.2 Sample
This study employed theoretical sampling (Blumberg, Cooper & Schindler, 2014). I aimed to find entrepreneurs who also serve as networking experts through reputation, rather than find participants with a random sampling of entrepreneurs. Being an entrepreneur means that the interviewees have been involved in the creation and development of new ventures, work for themselves, operate a business, deal with risk and uncertainty and are looking for
opportunities (Henrekson & Sinandaji, 2013). The interviewees were sampled under three criteria to be certain that they are networking experts. Experience is the first criterion that was used. The other two criteria determine whether the entrepreneurs think themselves that they have a diverse network or if that another person has suggested that the entrepreneur has a diverse network. The sample consists of 7 networking experts and 2 aspiring novice entrepreneurs. Another reason for the choice of theoretical sampling is that this study was conducted over three months, which means the use of another form of sampling would have been complicated.
The interviewees differ in experience. Some have more experience as entrepreneurs, while some have more relevant working experience. Most of the interviewees were male, despite that the interviewees were not selected based on gender. The interviewees are all highly educated. Table 3 provides the relevant details of the interviewees.
23 Four interviewees were recruited through contacts within my current network. Two
interviewees were enlisted by asking my strong ties if they have in their network
entrepreneurs who are networking experts. Two other interviewees were found by sending an e-mail to them without prior ties or contact. The contact with one other interviewee was established when another interviewee recommended that I conduct an interview with this entrepreneur.
Table 3
Characteristics of the Participants
Interviewee Age Gender Sector Relevant work experience Experience as an entrepreneur Education 1 65 Male Management consulting 8 years 29 years PhD
2 24 Male Catering industry 0 years 1 year BSc
3 45 Male Training and
insurances
5 years 15 years MSc
4 41 Female Biking and social enterprising
18 years 5 years MSc
5 25 Male Real estate 2 years 1 year BSc
6 54 Male Accounting 11 years 12 years BSc
7 51 Male Accounting 24 years 8 years MSc
8 47 Male Training 17 years 12 years MSc
9 50 Male Mortgage
consulting
6 years 17 years MBA
3.3 Data collection
The interviews occurred in a semi-structured manner. Open-ended questions were asked so that the interviewees would provide longer responses with more details (Dingemanse, 2015). The interviews began by asking general information of the interviewee. After that, questions were asked about the two main subjects: the aspects of a diversified network and possible actions to make a network more diverse. First, these topics were investigated by means of open questions. Then, aspects and actions from the literature were presented to the
interviewees during the interview, and they were asked if they agreed with those aspects and actions. The interviewees were also asked if they could themselves produce aspects of a
24 diverse network according to their expertise and if they have undertaken actions to diversify their network other than those from the literature reviewed in this study. Another subject of the interview was a discussion of the advantages of a diverse network. The interviewees were asked what they consider the advantages of a diverse network to be, and finally, tips and suggestions for the training program were requested at the end of the interview. The interview guide can be found in Appendix 4. Participants were asked to fill in a consent form, which stated that the interview was confidential and anonymous. The consent form can be found in Appendix 3.
Before beginning the main study, a pilot interview was held. The pilot interview tested if the interview questions would lead to answers that have value for the study. It also tested the build-up of the interview and whether any questions should be excluded or included. The pilot interview resulted in answers that have value for this study, and it did not indicate that the build-up should change. The pilot interview stated one aspect of diversity and one action to diversify the network that were not yet included in the interview but were added to the interview after the pilot.
Novice interviewers risk falling in the trap of common mistakes. Three mistakes are considered common when conducting interviews. The first common mistake is under- and over-estimating the interviewees’ capacity to understand the predefined questions and using over-assumptions during the interview. Under-estimation could offend the interviewee, and over-estimation could mean that the interviewee does not understand the questions and thus cannot provide suitable answers. Over-assuming occurs when making assumptions that are not necessarily true. The second common mistake is to ask double-barrelled questions. Double-barrelled questions are questions in which two or more concepts are included in the question and thus require more than one answer. The third mistake is asking leading
questions, which are questions that lead the interviewee to provide a socially desirable or expected answer (Pizarro, 2015). As a novice entrepreneur with higher chances of falling into the trap of common mistakes, I took these points into consideration when conducting the interviews.
3.4 Data Analysis
Firstly, the interviews were all transcribed, and then data were analysed after that. The thematic analysis of Clarke and Braun was employed to analyse the data which resulted from the open questions. The thematic analyses consists of a six-phase process (Clarke & Braun, 2014).
25 The first process was to become familiar with the data and identify items of potential interest. This process concretely included reading and rereading the dataset and listening to the audio recordings of the data at least once. The second process was to generate initial codes. A code is a label that states an important idea within the data. Next was a search for themes. The theme identifies a relation between the initial codes and aggregates the relations on a higher level. Reviewing the potential themes is the next process. This process determines if the themes capture the most important information of the data, and it checks the themes in relation to the entire dataset. Defining and naming the themes is the fifth step. This step selects the themes that are used in the final report and ensures that each theme contributes to the research question. This process also consists of naming the themes. The last process is producing the report and includes making the last changes in the analysis in order to accomplish the goal of telling a rich and complex story of the research (Clarke & Braun, 2014).
26 Chapter 4: Results
This chapter supplies the results regarding the aspects of a diverse network. Secondly, the results that include advantages of structural holes in a diverse network are offered, and the next section provides the results of the questions about actions that can be taken to diversify a network; this section is divided into planned and emergent networking actions. Planned networking actions is further divided into indirect contacting and direct contacting, while emergent networking actions is sub-divided into circumstantial indirect actions and the act of making others initiate the contact. In Section 4.4, the results of the questions about actions to establish a new tie are shown.
4.1 Aspects of a Diverse Network
Firstly, the results of the research what comprises diversity on the network level are shown, and the ideas regarding the tie level are shown after that.
The results of this research what comprises on network level is if a network merely consists of strong ties or weak ties. According to interviewees 3, 4, 7, 8 and 9, it is more important to have a small and strong network. Interviewee 7 stated that it is impossible to focus on more than three networks, as all the information in a large network is impossible to process. This implications is in contrast with interviewee 2, who always wants to meet more people. The results regarding the tie level are divided into aspects of a network that could enhance diversity. The aspects that were already shown in the literature are as follows: disciplinary background, expertise, skills, talents and experience in certain industries. The interviewees added the following aspects: culture of countries of origin, level of education and age. The aspects of a diversified network are correlated with each other and cannot be seen as individual aspects themselves.
All of the interviewees expressed that the disciplinary background is an important aspect of diversity in a network. Interviewee 1 stated: “I immediately start thinking about disciplines; is someone an economist, businessman or anthropologist?” Interviewee 3 replied in line with this statement, while interviewee 6 concluded that all the different functions are important: “Then it does not matter if someone is an employee or a CEO”.
All of the interviewees stated that expertise, skills and talents are also important aspects of diversity in a network. Interviewee 5 specified, “With expertise you will have the knowledge of people who tried their success. They know a lot of things. They can guide you easily to not fall into this digits or these problems.”
27 Experience in a certain industry is also an important aspect of diversity in a network
according to all the interviewees. Interviewee 3 considered representation of different industries as the most important aspect of diversity.
The aspects cannot be separated from each other, according to four interviewees. Interviewee 1 expressed that “industry and functional background go hand in hand”, while interviewee 6 agreed and said, “but it is also coherent with function. I always see it as a matrix, more
dimensional where we can choose from.” Interviewee 7 added that function goes hand in hand with expertise, skills and talents.
Interviewee 1 indicated that the most important aspect of diversity is the culture of people’s countries: “In our case, it is culture of countries, I think, because culture of countries brings more stuff with it”. Interviewee 3 agreed with this sentiment.
Interviewee 3 stated that the level of education and age are important aspects in a diversified network.
An important note from interviewee 1 is that diversity can only be seen as the diversity of diversity. Diversity of diversity means that one diverse aspect only generates some diversity in a network. All the aspects must be diverse to create diversity. This point is in line with the ideas of interviewee 5: “You cannot ignore some aspects. In fact, in small business every piece counts”.
Interviewee 2, who is a novice entrepreneur, has focussed mostly on becoming acquainted with people who have expertise and experience because, as he is not yet an experienced entrepreneur, his network consists mainly of young people.
4.2 Advantages of a Diversified Network
A diverse network does create advantages. This section explains the results of interview questions regarding the advantages of diversity in a network. The advantages are categorised as human capital and social capital, with a special focus on linchpins and structural holes. Financial capital is excluded, as the interviewees did not mention advantages stated of financial capital in a network.
Human capital in a network has several advantages. Interviewee 1 explained that a diverse network brings more viewpoints, which makes it possible to better help the customers. Interviewee 3 has found that a diverse network results in more inputs than a homogeneous network, so its members can be creative and think out of the box; it is easier to help each
28 other in a diversified network. Interviewees 2 and 4 stated that a diverse network can help to solve more problems, as it gives broader insights and helps others better understand different cultures and perceptions. Interviewee 6 discussed that it a diverse network makes it possible to find different kinds of expertise.
Social capital has multiple advantages in a network. This study focusses on a part of social capital, namely linchpins and structural holes. Some interviewees have found projects or freelance positions because of structural holes. Interviewee 2 obtained freelance positions because of the network of other freelancers: “Some chefs tell me: ‘I worked over here and here, but now I do not have time. You can fulfil this position. I can introduce you to this restaurant.’” Moreover, Interviewee 7 stated that his work relies on his diverse network, as he becomes involved in works projects because of it: “I think that a diverse network can help you to get projects, I would not have them if I did not have a diverse network”. Interviewee 8 added that he thinks that half of his revenue stems from his diverse network, as it is the source of his work projects.
Other interviewees expressed that having a diverse network has helped their company to survive. Interviewee 3 started his company while relying on his diverse network. By getting to know more people through existing contacts, he was able to find partners and customers, which is a very important task for a start-up business. Interviewee 8 stated that he would have gone bankrupt without his diverse network.
Some interviewees also mentioned that a diverse network helps when they need to contact even more people. Interviewee 4 said that a diverse network helps to get in contact with multiple small networks, while interviewee 6 stated that the networks of the ties in one’s own network can help to find more diverse ties. For instance, it is possible that a friendly
competitor can introduce someone to a legal psychologist, who may have a close contact in an international company.
4.3 Actions to Diversify a Network
The actions that diversify a network have been categorised under a certain theme, which differentiates between planned actions or under emergent actions. Table 4 provides an overview of the results.
4.3.1 Planned Actions
The results shows that the planned networking actions can be divided into two themes. The themes are planned direct contacting and planned indirect contacting.
29 4.3.1.1 Planned Direct Contacting
Planned direct contacting is characterised as when the individual is known and the entrepreneur has the intention to diversify his or her network by making contact with the individual. Direct contacting consists of the following actions: Signing contracts, inviting someone for meetings or business calls, taking a contact to dinner, cold calling, using online networking tools and organising events.
There was one interviewee who has used contracts to diversify his network. Interviewee 3 stated: “We work a lot with different parties, as they can deliver what we cannot deliver.” Two interviewees stated that they have invited people for meetings and having business conversations or calls to diversify their network. Four interviewees take potential ties for dinner or entertainment. Interviewee 5 stated that he employs this tactic around 20% of the time he meets a new tie. Interviewee 6 indicated that he takes potential ties only for dinner, not for any other entertainment. Interviewee 7 added that he often goes for coffee with potential ties, but not for dinner.
Three interviewees stated that they use cold calling as a way to diversify their network. Interviewee 3 explained the he sees cold calling as an excellent way to get in touch with certain people. Furthermore, two interviewees use online networking tools to come in contact with a pre-identified individual. Interviewee 3 used LinkedIn to search for people who he needs: “Sometimes I will look for someone, an expertise or a certain company, [on
LinkedIn]”. Interviewee 8 added that he uses LinkedIn to see if he can contact someone via a current friend, but he does not do so regularly.
Three interviewees stated that they invite potential ties to their own events to diversify their network. Interviewee 3 has invited people to his own events to make his network more diverse in terms of industry representation. Interviewee 7 stated that his organisation has his own events to strengthen his current ties, so that his current ties bring him in contact with new relations: “We do that with warm connections, hoping that we get new appointments and that they can get us in contact with new people.”
Attending events could be used as planned direct contacting. Interviewee 7 stated that, with knowledge that a desired tie will attend an event, it could be useful to go there and try to add him or her to a network.
30 4.3.1.2 Planned Indirect Contacting
Planned indirect contacting means that the characteristics of a desired individual are known, but the individual to be added to the network is not specifically known. In other words, the networking experts knows what type of new tie they want, but they do not know who that individual exactly is before meeting the person. The intentions of the entrepreneur must be to diversify his or her network in this type of contact. Planned indirect contacting consists of the following actions: Using the network of strong ties and using online networking tools. All of the interviewees have used the networks of their strong ties to diversify their network. Interviewee 4 explained that she believes that indirect contacting is an excellent way to diversify her network, but she does not do it very often. Interviewee 3 discussed using the network of his strong ties as one of the most important actions: “Maybe one of the most important [methods], at least for me.” Interviewee 2 stated that he tries to get a more diverse network by using his strong ties.
One interviewee has used online networking tools to contact a pre-determined individual via a group. Interviewee 1 was looking for coaches for his new training program and asked a coach who has 1 million followers if he can use his network via LinkedIn to spread the word about his training program.
Attending events could be an action that corresponds to indirect contacting. Interviewee 3 went to some events when he started his organisation: “I went to events for entrepreneurs to find other entrepreneurs”. He did not know who the individuals were, but he did know the characteristics he was looking for.
4.3.2 Emergent Actions
Emergent actions can be divided into two themes based on the results: circumstantial indirect contacting and making others initiate the contact.
4.3.2.1 Circumstantial Indirect Contacting
Circumstantial indirect contacting refers to when the characteristics of an individual are unknown and the individual is also unknown; the intentions of the entrepreneur are not to specifically diversify his or her network, but actions taken do make his or her network more diverse. Circumstantial indirect contacting includes the following actions: attending events, volunteering, participating in associations, participating in programs and staying in touch with universities.
31 Eight of the interviewees have attended events to diversify their network. Interviewee 1 mentioned often going to events, but because it is part of his work. He does meet diverse people at those occasion, but not with the exact goal to diversify his network: “The annoying thing for this interview is that my job is often [at] events. My work is almost always
networking, in a certain definition of the word.” Interviewees 6 and 9 reported that they do not attend events to diversify their networks. They have attended some events, but they did so for the information; these actions did make their network more diverse. Interviewee 2 added that attending events is the most important means of diversifying his network. He attends events even if he is not interested in the subjects of the event; he can meet many different people in this way.
One interviewee stated that volunteering was an important way to diversify her network. Interviewee 4 started her organisation because of participation in a volunteering opportunity. Interviewee 5 stated that he has participated in volunteering, but he did not find more
diversity in his network because of it. Five5 interviewees claimed that associations helped them to diversify their network. The largest part of the network of interviewee 3 stems from such associations. Interviewees 7 and 9 explained they use associations merely for the information or expertise possible, but not to diversify their networks. Another way to diversify a network is by participating in programs. Interviewee 3 has participated in programs to diversify his network. Interviewee 2 participated in a language course when he arrived in Valencia, which helped him to meet a diverse set of people.
Three interviewees stated that staying in touch with universities to diversify their network is important. Interviewee 6 discussed that he does not use the students to diversify his network, but he uses the contacts of the university for other purposes. Interviewee 7 explained using the student opportunities to diversify his network.
4.3.2.2 Making others initiate contact
Making others initiate contact is a situation in which the characteristics of an individual is unknown and so is the individual; the networking expert gains a reputation, which makes the chances higher that a potential tie will reach out to make contact. This situation could make the network of the networking expert more diverse, as the people who contact the
entrepreneur could be diverse people. The intention of the networking expert in this scenario is not to diversify his or her network, but gaining renown could result in a more diverse network. Actions that corresponds with making others make the contact are as follows:
32 sponsoring, public speaking and using online networking tools. Accepting invitations is also important.
Interviewee 7 stated that he sponsors events to get more renown notoriety and to get in contact with potential new ties. Three interviewees have engaged in public speaking. They participate partially to diversify their network. Part of the job of interviewee 1 is public speaking, which has helped him to obtain a diverse network. Interviewee 7 has organised a finance masterclass for start-ups and CEOs, which he does for recognition, but also to
diversify his network. Online networking tools are also useful for expanding one’s reputation. Interviewee 3 explained posting content to get reactions, while interviewee 4 used Twitter to spread the story of her company and, in doing so, diversified her network.
When the networking expert is invited, it is important that the invitation not be ignored. The network of the expert would not diversify if invitations are never accepted. Eight of the interviewees stated that accepting invitations from strangers for a certain activity is an action that could diversify a network. Interviewee 1 was invited for breakfast by a German teacher who was teaching in Japan, and his reaction was a happy acceptance. Interviewee 8 added that accepting an offer for a coffee or lunch depends on the person.
33 Table 4
Summary of Actions to Diversify a Network Type of
action
Themes Initial codes Explanation
Planned Planned direct
contacting
Signing contracts, inviting someone for meetings or business calls, taking a person for dinner or entertainment, cold calling, *using online networking tools, organising events and *attending events.
In this type of networking, it is clear which individual the entrepreneur wants to contact. The intentions are focussed on diversifying the network.
Planned
indirect contacting
Using the network of strong ties, *using online networking tools and *attending events.
In this type of networking, it is clear which type of individual the entrepreneur wants to contact but not who the individual is specifically. The intentions are focussed on diversifying the network. Emergent Circumstantial indirect contacting * Attending events, volunteering, participating in associations, participating in programs and staying in touch with universities.
In this type of networking, it is not clear which type of
individual the entrepreneur wants to contact. The intentions of the entrepreneur are not focused diversifying the network.
Making others initiate
contact
Sponsoring, public speaking, *using online networking tools and accepting invitations of strangers for an activity.
This style is achieved by gaining a reputation that leads to making others make the contact. The intentions of the networker are not focussed on diversifying the network.
34 4.4 Establishing New, Diverse Ties Actions
The actions that establish new ties that arose in the results can be divided into three themes: before the conversation, during the conversation and after the conversation.
The theme of before the conversation consists of three actions, which are knowing actualities, having professional knowledge to establish interpersonal knowledge and having the intention to talk to strangers. Interviewee 7 stated that it is important to know actualities, especially the actualities in business, and showing a mastery of professional knowledge is also beneficial. Six of the interviewees stated that talking with strangers, especially unusual strangers, is an effective way to diversify their network. Interviewee 3 noted that he speaks with people who look interesting because he merely enjoys doing so, especially with unusual strangers. Interviewee 6 explained speaking with strangers, but not always.
The phase of during the conversation consists of the following actions: finding areas of expertise, understanding motivations, finding common third parties, asking open questions, being a sounding board for others, listening closely, reacting with curiosity instead with self-interest and exchanging introductions.
Four interviewees noted that they try to find the areas of expertise of potential new ties. Four interviewees try to find the motivation of the potential new tie. Interviewee 4 expressed a desire to uncover the vision of people when she meets them for the first time: “I only help people who I believe will help me with my view of the world.” Three interviewees have tried to find common third parties. Four of the interviewees stated that it is important to ask open questions during the conversation, though interviewee 6 explained that he also asks closed questions depending on the personality of the person with whom he is talking. Two
interviewees stated that being a sounding board for others during the conversation is effective. Listening closely was indicated as important for establishing new ties by six interviewees. Seven of the interviewees said that reacting with curiosity instead of self-interest is an important action. Interviewee 3 stated that the art of giving is an important activity in networking: “The best networkers are the people who are best in giving and, from that position, think ‘how can I help him/her’”. Interviewee 7 added that he sometimes reacts with curiosity, but only if he thinks that it can benefit him one day: “It must be in the back of my mind that one day he could help me, otherwise I will not do that.” Interviewees 4 and 9 added that the curiosity should start with intrinsic motivation and being sincere in the relationship with the new tie. Interviewee 7 expressed: “You must be sincerely interested in the relation. It
35 is about the relationship and not what you can get out of it.” Interviewee 9 stated: “When someone is intrinsically motivated, then I will give him all the time I have.” It is also
important to stay true to oneself, according to interviewee 9, who added that attending events should be done out of interest in the information, not only for networking: “We tell people, ‘do the things that you find interesting’”.
Seven interviewees indicated that they view exchanging introductions as a way to create a bond with a new, diverse tie. Interviewee 7 discussed that he does exchange connections, but only if the conversations last for a longer period of time. Interviewee 8 added that whether he exchanges introductions depends on the intentions of the other person.
After the conversation, it is possible to send a follow-up message to the new tie. Three interviewees said that they often send a follow-up message after they met someone, and six stated that it depends on the relationship. Interviewee 3 often contacts the new tie by using LinkedIn: “I do that often via LinkedIn with a personal message attached”.
